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As student mental health worsens, support is scant

Patchy picture emerges of services in Scotland’s colleges amid calls for more staff

Concerns are being raised over the mental health support available to college students, in light of a Tes Scotland survey revealing the vast disparities in services across Scotland’s FE sector.

The survey of 12 of Scotland’s 20 colleges shows that while some colleges have several dedicated staff trained in how to support students with mental health issues, others have no specialised staff in this area.

The findings come amid warnings from both student and college leaders that the mental health of students is worsening.

Only two colleges said that they employed a full-time dedicated member of ...

Schoolchildren 'left in limbo' by Camhs rejections

Last month, an investigation by Tes Scotland revealed a similarly patchy picture in the schools sector, showing that some pupils suffering mental health problems were able to use school-based counselling services, while others had to wait several months for help.

At the Mental Health and Wellbeing in Scotland’s Schools conference in Edinburgh, teachers said greater awareness about wellbeing was being offset by a dearth of funding.

Kenny Graham, of the Scottish Children’s Services Coalition, said progress had been made since 2009, when only four of Scotland’s 32 local authorities provided counselling services in schools, although the precise current number was unknown.

But Mr Graham warned that some 17,000 children had been left “in limbo” after their referral to child and adolescent mental health services had been rejected.

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